[Pokemon] Meet Me in Sootopolis (1/1)
Title: Meet Me in Sootopolis
Fandom: Pokemon
Author: chiharu
Characters/pairing: Steven/Cynthia
Rating: G
wordcount: ~1000
Written for jongshin for pkmnficxchange's holiday exchange.
She meets him at age sixteen, a month after her Riolu egg hatches. Cynthia had spent the better part of that month sleeping in the groves of Fortree City before defeating the gym leader. Months away from home had frayed more than her nerves. There are more holes in her jacket than she cares to mend and an odd scratch running up the length of her right arm that she can’t remember acquiring. Her blond locks are chopped unnaturally short after a Numel tried to light her on fire in the middle of Route 112, and when Cynthia uses the back of her Pokegear as a mirror, she often has a hard time recognizing herself.
Cynthia is two badges away from challenging the Pokemon league, yet she takes the scenic Route back through Route 119, set on hibernating in the nearest town that can house her. She is on the edge of adulthood, yet her overwhelming sense of responsibility is often overshadowed by a daunting feeling of youthful insecurity.
At Slateport City, she trades her unused items for extra cash and spends her days sitting by the harbor, watching children run across the beach. She buys lunch at the market and watches shows at the contest hall in the afternoons. On her fifth day there, she finds a boy staring at the sedimentary rock exhibit on her daily tour of the museum.
“Hello,” the boy says good-naturedly when he notices her. His silver hair reminds her of gleaming waters and the week she spent surfing around Pacifilog Town. He follows her gaze towards the display. “Do you like oceanography?”
I love it, Cynthia wants to say. Instead, she gives him a small shrug. “It’s interesting.” He ignores her brisk reply and engages her in conversation about the formation of whirlpools, offering tidbits of information that the exhibit display leaves out. They are discussing fossilization when he cuts in, “Have you been to Sootopolis?”
Cynthia shakes her head. “No, but I plan to eventually.”
“I’m Steven,” the boy tells her, an easy smile on his face. “Forgive me for being too forward, but would you like to battle?”
Cynthia doesn’t know what’s forward at all about his request, so they battle outside of the museum, his Skarmory knocking out her Shellos. As an apology for defeating her, he offers to treat her to dinner. She laughs and accepts, because it’s been months since she last had a real conversation outside of the routine challenges.
Steven takes her to a funnel cake cart on the beach while they talk about the formation of evolutionary stones. He shows her his case of badges when the sun is setting, and they are sitting under an open umbrella. Cynthia lets out a small noise of awe when she sees all eight badges, turning to him with wide eyes. “Have you-”
“No,” Steven says. “But I plan to, eventually.”
They trade numbers on their Pokegear and Cynthia leaves Slateport the next day. She wonders if Steven will really be the one waiting for her at the end of the Elite Four, if she ever gets there. She then spends the next few weeks training Riolu, all thoughts of Steven forgotten. Cynthia never makes it to the Pokemon League. Her family moves to Celestic Town, and shortly afterwards her grandfather asks her to meet Dr. Rowan.
She becomes the champion of Sinnoh at age eighteen, her days spent traveling between regions, attending conferences, and completing odd errands that she can’t imagine the previous champion accepting. Everywhere she goes, Cynthia carries with her an overwhelming sense of restlessness. With every challenger, she becomes a little more impatient, for fear that someone more powerful is right around the corner. Six months into her stint as the champion, she meets Steven inside of the Solaceon Ruins.
She doesn’t recognize the man who disrupts the flock of Unowns at first. Then she catches sight of his hair and sighs, letting go of Garchomp’s pokeball.
“Long time no see,” Steven says, calling his Claydol back. “What are you doing here?”
Cynthia wants to ask him the same question, but instead she says, “There were reports of a disturbance in here. I didn’t know the champion of Hoenn was busy digging up rocks.”
Steven laughs, running a hand through his bangs. From her spot a few feet away, Cynthia can see the layer of dirt and debris on his clothes. “I’m sorry to have disrupted you. I have an odd habit of wandering around by myself, you see.”
“You won’t find anything here but Unowns,” Cynthia says, hands on her hips.
“Well.” Steven smiles a little. “I found you, didn’t I?”
It is mid afternoon when they leave the ruins, the light only amplifying the amount of ash in Steven’s hair as they walk around Solaceon Town. It is spring, and the meadows reminds her a little of Floaroma.
“Did you ever make it to Sootopolis?” Steven asks, almost randomly, in front of the pokemon center.
Cynthia shakes her head as she follows him inside. “No. No, I didn’t.”
“Well, I caught a pokemon while diving outside of Sootopolis City, and I’ve been unsure of what to do with it since. Perhaps you’d like to take care of it for me?”
Steven’s Feebas is timid and cautious, but it reminds Cynthia of herself when they first met, uneasy and rough around the edges. She thanks him after the transfer, but Steven only pats her on the shoulder. “Are you going back to Hoenn?” She asks before heading off.
“Yes,” Steven tells her. “But I can come back.”
Steven’s number has not changed since her Hoenn days. They meet while traveling across regions. It becomes an odd routine. Cynthia divides her time between finishing assignments for the league and playing good Samaritan to passing trainers. When Cynthia is done dealing with wild flocks of Pokemon and delivering odd packages across the region, she meets him in the most unlikely of locations. They spend nights observing ground Pokemon in caves and fly out to open markets by the seaside in the mornings.
In June, they meet on top of Mount Chimney. Cynthia watches as Steven scales waterfalls while she trains Feebas. She has been researching creationism in her spare time, following Steven on his hunt for rare stones. Sometimes she wonders why they are both so engrossed in the past when they should be looking towards the future.
“Have you met any promising trainers lately?” Cynthia asks offhandedly, fishing off the shore of Pastoria City in October. Steven is busy rearranging the entries on his Pokedex, but he looks up after a few minutes and mentions a female coordinator from Little Root Town.
Cynthia thinks about Steven’s words as she speaks at a keystone conference in Johto. She discusses the geography of Sinnoh with the gym leaders while humoring wide-eyed trainers who ask for a battle. Professor Birch engages her in conversation about rare pokemon eggs while Elm asks if she keeps in contact with the other champions.
Cynthia thinks about Steven and his Metagross, but says nothing.
Feebas evolves into Milotic in the spring. Cynthia considers calling Steven on her Pokegear, but decides otherwise. It’s been four months since she last saw him on her visit to Lilycove, the news of the new Hoenn champion spreading across the region soon thereafter. She is preoccupied herself, with more trainers challenging the Pokemon league in the wake of a new Hoenn champion.
Cynthia accepts every challenge dedicatedly, her lineup unchanged. Yet, no trainer ever makes it past Lucario. Her reputation as the unyielding champion of Sinnoh grows with every passing day, and she can no longer distinguish passion from obligation.
One day, the trainer she meets on Route 210 is the one who steps through the doors. “Thanks for the secret potion,” the boy tells Cynthia. “But enough talking. Let’s battle!”
At the end of the month, she returns to Celestic Town and finds a letter addressed to her. Meet me in Sootopolis, the air mail says.
There’s something very magical about diving, Cynthia thinks when she arrives, squeezing the water out of her hair. Steven is waiting for her by the shore, a towel in one hand as he takes her soaked jacket, the weather warm enough to towel dry her hair. Cynthia watches Steven’s peaceful expression and wonders exactly how long Steven has been waiting for her. She thinks it’s unfortunate that she took such a long detour to get to this point.
“I heard you like oceanography,” he says with a smile.
“I love it,” Cynthia laughs in return.
end
Love it? Hate it? Please leave some feedback, even if it may be a little late. You can also join the community, since I'll be locking up NC17 fics.
Fandom: Pokemon
Author: chiharu
Characters/pairing: Steven/Cynthia
Rating: G
wordcount: ~1000
Written for jongshin for pkmnficxchange's holiday exchange.
She meets him at age sixteen, a month after her Riolu egg hatches. Cynthia had spent the better part of that month sleeping in the groves of Fortree City before defeating the gym leader. Months away from home had frayed more than her nerves. There are more holes in her jacket than she cares to mend and an odd scratch running up the length of her right arm that she can’t remember acquiring. Her blond locks are chopped unnaturally short after a Numel tried to light her on fire in the middle of Route 112, and when Cynthia uses the back of her Pokegear as a mirror, she often has a hard time recognizing herself.
Cynthia is two badges away from challenging the Pokemon league, yet she takes the scenic Route back through Route 119, set on hibernating in the nearest town that can house her. She is on the edge of adulthood, yet her overwhelming sense of responsibility is often overshadowed by a daunting feeling of youthful insecurity.
At Slateport City, she trades her unused items for extra cash and spends her days sitting by the harbor, watching children run across the beach. She buys lunch at the market and watches shows at the contest hall in the afternoons. On her fifth day there, she finds a boy staring at the sedimentary rock exhibit on her daily tour of the museum.
“Hello,” the boy says good-naturedly when he notices her. His silver hair reminds her of gleaming waters and the week she spent surfing around Pacifilog Town. He follows her gaze towards the display. “Do you like oceanography?”
I love it, Cynthia wants to say. Instead, she gives him a small shrug. “It’s interesting.” He ignores her brisk reply and engages her in conversation about the formation of whirlpools, offering tidbits of information that the exhibit display leaves out. They are discussing fossilization when he cuts in, “Have you been to Sootopolis?”
Cynthia shakes her head. “No, but I plan to eventually.”
“I’m Steven,” the boy tells her, an easy smile on his face. “Forgive me for being too forward, but would you like to battle?”
Cynthia doesn’t know what’s forward at all about his request, so they battle outside of the museum, his Skarmory knocking out her Shellos. As an apology for defeating her, he offers to treat her to dinner. She laughs and accepts, because it’s been months since she last had a real conversation outside of the routine challenges.
Steven takes her to a funnel cake cart on the beach while they talk about the formation of evolutionary stones. He shows her his case of badges when the sun is setting, and they are sitting under an open umbrella. Cynthia lets out a small noise of awe when she sees all eight badges, turning to him with wide eyes. “Have you-”
“No,” Steven says. “But I plan to, eventually.”
They trade numbers on their Pokegear and Cynthia leaves Slateport the next day. She wonders if Steven will really be the one waiting for her at the end of the Elite Four, if she ever gets there. She then spends the next few weeks training Riolu, all thoughts of Steven forgotten. Cynthia never makes it to the Pokemon League. Her family moves to Celestic Town, and shortly afterwards her grandfather asks her to meet Dr. Rowan.
She becomes the champion of Sinnoh at age eighteen, her days spent traveling between regions, attending conferences, and completing odd errands that she can’t imagine the previous champion accepting. Everywhere she goes, Cynthia carries with her an overwhelming sense of restlessness. With every challenger, she becomes a little more impatient, for fear that someone more powerful is right around the corner. Six months into her stint as the champion, she meets Steven inside of the Solaceon Ruins.
She doesn’t recognize the man who disrupts the flock of Unowns at first. Then she catches sight of his hair and sighs, letting go of Garchomp’s pokeball.
“Long time no see,” Steven says, calling his Claydol back. “What are you doing here?”
Cynthia wants to ask him the same question, but instead she says, “There were reports of a disturbance in here. I didn’t know the champion of Hoenn was busy digging up rocks.”
Steven laughs, running a hand through his bangs. From her spot a few feet away, Cynthia can see the layer of dirt and debris on his clothes. “I’m sorry to have disrupted you. I have an odd habit of wandering around by myself, you see.”
“You won’t find anything here but Unowns,” Cynthia says, hands on her hips.
“Well.” Steven smiles a little. “I found you, didn’t I?”
It is mid afternoon when they leave the ruins, the light only amplifying the amount of ash in Steven’s hair as they walk around Solaceon Town. It is spring, and the meadows reminds her a little of Floaroma.
“Did you ever make it to Sootopolis?” Steven asks, almost randomly, in front of the pokemon center.
Cynthia shakes her head as she follows him inside. “No. No, I didn’t.”
“Well, I caught a pokemon while diving outside of Sootopolis City, and I’ve been unsure of what to do with it since. Perhaps you’d like to take care of it for me?”
Steven’s Feebas is timid and cautious, but it reminds Cynthia of herself when they first met, uneasy and rough around the edges. She thanks him after the transfer, but Steven only pats her on the shoulder. “Are you going back to Hoenn?” She asks before heading off.
“Yes,” Steven tells her. “But I can come back.”
Steven’s number has not changed since her Hoenn days. They meet while traveling across regions. It becomes an odd routine. Cynthia divides her time between finishing assignments for the league and playing good Samaritan to passing trainers. When Cynthia is done dealing with wild flocks of Pokemon and delivering odd packages across the region, she meets him in the most unlikely of locations. They spend nights observing ground Pokemon in caves and fly out to open markets by the seaside in the mornings.
In June, they meet on top of Mount Chimney. Cynthia watches as Steven scales waterfalls while she trains Feebas. She has been researching creationism in her spare time, following Steven on his hunt for rare stones. Sometimes she wonders why they are both so engrossed in the past when they should be looking towards the future.
“Have you met any promising trainers lately?” Cynthia asks offhandedly, fishing off the shore of Pastoria City in October. Steven is busy rearranging the entries on his Pokedex, but he looks up after a few minutes and mentions a female coordinator from Little Root Town.
Cynthia thinks about Steven’s words as she speaks at a keystone conference in Johto. She discusses the geography of Sinnoh with the gym leaders while humoring wide-eyed trainers who ask for a battle. Professor Birch engages her in conversation about rare pokemon eggs while Elm asks if she keeps in contact with the other champions.
Cynthia thinks about Steven and his Metagross, but says nothing.
Feebas evolves into Milotic in the spring. Cynthia considers calling Steven on her Pokegear, but decides otherwise. It’s been four months since she last saw him on her visit to Lilycove, the news of the new Hoenn champion spreading across the region soon thereafter. She is preoccupied herself, with more trainers challenging the Pokemon league in the wake of a new Hoenn champion.
Cynthia accepts every challenge dedicatedly, her lineup unchanged. Yet, no trainer ever makes it past Lucario. Her reputation as the unyielding champion of Sinnoh grows with every passing day, and she can no longer distinguish passion from obligation.
One day, the trainer she meets on Route 210 is the one who steps through the doors. “Thanks for the secret potion,” the boy tells Cynthia. “But enough talking. Let’s battle!”
At the end of the month, she returns to Celestic Town and finds a letter addressed to her. Meet me in Sootopolis, the air mail says.
There’s something very magical about diving, Cynthia thinks when she arrives, squeezing the water out of her hair. Steven is waiting for her by the shore, a towel in one hand as he takes her soaked jacket, the weather warm enough to towel dry her hair. Cynthia watches Steven’s peaceful expression and wonders exactly how long Steven has been waiting for her. She thinks it’s unfortunate that she took such a long detour to get to this point.
“I heard you like oceanography,” he says with a smile.
“I love it,” Cynthia laughs in return.
end
Love it? Hate it? Please leave some feedback, even if it may be a little late. You can also join the community, since I'll be locking up NC17 fics.